Medicare Scam Calls: How to Spot, Stop, and Report Them

How to Tell a Medicare Call Is a Scam

The single most useful fact to remember is this: Medicare does not make uninvited phone calls asking for your personal information. Medicare will never call you out of the blue to sell you something, will never visit your home uninvited, and will never ask you for money. If a stranger calls and asks for your Medicare Number or other private details, that is your signal to hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself.

Scammers rely on pressure and fear. A common tactic is to threaten to cancel your health benefits, suspend your coverage, or tell you that you owe money right now. Real Medicare will never threaten to cancel your benefits over the phone. Treat any threat, deadline, or 'act now or lose your coverage' demand as a red flag.

Do not trust your caller ID. Scammers can fake, or 'spoof,' the number and name that show up on your screen so the call looks like it is coming from Medicare, Social Security, or another government office. A call that displays an official-looking name or number proves nothing about who is really on the line.

• Red flag: the caller contacted you first and asks for your Medicare Number, Social Security number, or bank details.
• Red flag: the caller threatens to cancel your benefits, suspend your number, or have you arrested.
• Red flag: the caller demands immediate payment, especially by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, prepaid debit card, gold, or cash.
• Red flag: the caller offers a 'free' brace, test kit, or genetic screening if you just confirm your Medicare Number.
• Remember: caller ID can be faked, so an official-looking number does not mean the call is real.

Will Medicare Ever Actually Call Me?

Yes, but only in limited situations, and almost always because you contacted Medicare first. For example, a Medicare representative or a plan's agent may call you back after you joined a plan, after you reported fraud, or after you left a message asking Medicare to call you. In other words, a legitimate Medicare call is usually a return call you were already expecting.

If you ever get a call you did not expect, the safest response is the same every time. Do not confirm any information, even your name or Medicare Number. Hang up, then call Medicare directly at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) using the number you look up yourself, never a number the caller gives you.

• Legitimate Medicare calls usually happen because you reached out first.
• Examples: a return call after you joined a plan, reported fraud, or left Medicare a message.
• When in doubt, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself to verify.

What to Never Share and Who You Can Trust

Guard your Medicare card the same way you would guard a credit card. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services advises that you only give your Medicare Number to people you trust to work with Medicare on your behalf, such as a participating Medicare pharmacist, your primary care or specialty doctor, or a trusted helper. Medicare itself will never call to ask for or 'verify' your Medicare Number.

This rule applies on every channel, not just the phone. If you get a text, email, or social media message asking for your Medicare Number, do not share it. The same goes for your Social Security number, bank account or card numbers, and any passwords. No legitimate government agency needs you to confirm these over an unsolicited call or message.

• Never share: your Medicare Number, Social Security number, bank or card numbers, or passwords with anyone who contacts you unexpectedly.
• Safe to share with: participating Medicare pharmacists, your own doctors, and people you trust to handle Medicare for you.
• Treat your Medicare card like a credit card, and keep the number private.
• The same caution applies to texts, emails, and social media, not just phone calls.

Common Medicare Scams Happening Now

Scammers constantly change their story, but a few schemes show up again and again. Knowing them in advance makes them easier to refuse.

Genetic testing scams: A caller or booth offers a 'free' cheek-swab or DNA screening and asks for your Medicare Number to bill the test. These tests are often medically unnecessary, and only a physician who knows and treats you should order genetic testing. If Medicare denies the claim because the test was not needed, you could be left owing the entire cost, which can run into thousands of dollars.

Equipment and brace scams: Telemarketers illegally push back braces, knee braces, diabetic supplies, or testing kits and mail them to you without a real prescription or any exam by your own doctor. If a product shows up that you did not order, or a caller offers 'free' supplies just for your Medicare Number, refuse it.

New-card and benefit scams: Callers may claim you need a new Medicare card and must confirm your number to receive it, or warn that your benefits will be cut off unless you act. Medicare does not work this way. Hang up and verify with 1-800-MEDICARE.

• Free genetic or DNA testing offers you did not request from your own doctor.
• Unsolicited braces, diabetic supplies, or test kits mailed without a prescription.
• 'You need a new card' or 'your benefits will be canceled' calls demanding your number.
• Why scammers want gift cards, crypto, wire transfers, or cash: these payments are nearly impossible to trace or reverse, so the government will never demand them.

Medicare Scams vs. Social Security Scams

Both kinds of calls prey on the same fear, but the threat is worded differently. A Social Security scam call typically claims your Social Security number has been 'suspended' due to suspicious activity, threatens you with arrest or legal action, or demands an immediate payment to fix it. The Social Security Administration will never suspend your number, never threaten arrest, and never demand immediate payment.

Medicare scam calls usually focus on your Medicare Number, free medical products or tests, or a threat to cancel your health benefits. The defense is identical for both: hang up, do not provide any personal information, money, or gift cards, and report it. You can report Social Security scams to the SSA Office of Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov, and Medicare scams to 1-800-MEDICARE.

• Social Security scam: threatens to suspend your SSN, arrest you, or demands instant payment. SSA never does these things.
• Medicare scam: targets your Medicare Number, pushes 'free' products or tests, or threatens to cancel benefits.
• Neither Medicare nor Social Security will ever threaten to cancel your benefits or suspend your number by phone.
• Same response for both: hang up, share nothing, and report it.

What to Do If You Were Targeted and How to Report It

If you already gave your Medicare Number or other details to a caller, do not panic, but act. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to report it, and watch your statements closely. Review your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) or your plan's Explanation of Benefits (EOB) for services, tests, or equipment you never received. Charges you do not recognize can be an early sign of fraud.

When you report suspected fraud, it helps to have a few things ready: your name, your Medicare Number, the provider's name, the date of service, the payment amount, and why you think Medicare should not have been billed. Keeping your MSN or EOB statements handy makes the call go faster.

You do not have to handle this alone. The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) offers free help to beneficiaries, families, and caregivers in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. SMP is a grant-funded program of the HHS Administration for Community Living, and you can find your local office at smpresource.org to report fraud or get help reviewing your statements.

• Report Medicare fraud or verify a suspicious call: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
• Medicare Advantage or drug plan members can also call I-MEDIC at 1-877-7SAFERX (1-877-772-3379).
• HHS Office of Inspector General hotline: 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477), TTY 1-800-377-4950, or online at TIPS.HHS.GOV.
• Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Get free local help from the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) at smpresource.org.
• Have ready: your name, Medicare Number, provider name, date of service, amount, and your MSN or EOB.